Liberty student owns recording studio

Kyle Hoppe discovered his passion for producing music at an early age and now runs Proclamation Studios

Kyle Hoppe studies worship at Liberty University, which for many students brings to mind stereotypical images of v-neck shirts, TOMS shoes and skinny jeans. Though these attributes describe Hoppe, it was his love of music that provided him with the passion to open his own production studio while still attending college.

Proclamation Studios is not just the name of Hoppe’s studio, although most of his work is done in Green Bay, Wis. The mixing and audio recording he does while studying at Liberty is also created under that title.

“I chose the name Proclamation because it is my goal to make recording, mixing, mastering and all those services accessible to anyone,” Hoppe said.

According to Hoppe, juggling schoolwork and recording can be a challenge, but his passion for the work lightens the load.

“It’s just what I love to do, so I cut down on video games and Breaking Bad to make time for it,” he said jokingly.

Hoppe also said that prioritizing music and school helps him get better at what he does. His work includes recording, mixing and mastering both covers and original music by Liberty students.

The conflict between keeping prices low and sustaining production costs is one of the potential problems that Hoppe said he faces when considering sound engineering for a living, and he laments the high prices charged by record studios.

“I think restricting art based on how much money people have is not really appreciating it,” Hoppe said. “Obviously, there are expenses in recording, but at the same time, if I’m just looking to make money, it is just a business. For me, music is not just a business.”

Although Hoppe is studying to become a pastor, he started producing music with the help of his father.

“My dad got me an eight-track recorder. It was my first digital work station because I couldn’t afford a laptop. I did a lot of work on that until I got a computer.”

One of Hoppe’s friends, who also produced music, played a part in his decision to learn the craft.

“I got to watch someone experience it in front of me,” Hoppe said. “I got the things that he was getting after I had already seen what he could do with them.”

Now that he can choose what artists to collaborate with, Hoppe said that he has had to make some tough decisions.

“It’s sad that sometimes I have to turn people down that I would normally want to work with because their music has horrible content,” Hoppe said.

According to his company’s website, Proclamation Studio’s goal is to record artists and give them the tools to share their music with the world.

“I’d love to see Proclamation Studios turn into a network of artists and engineers who work together to produce great music,” he said.

Hoppe said that he will continue to work on his degree at Liberty, but the quest for new artists and engineers to work with is never finished.